Amidst concerns of rubber cultivation in Kerala gradually losing its sheen, rubber growers allege that their issues have been given a short shrift at the recently concluded India Rubber Meet (IRM) in Guwahati.
According to the National Consortium of Rubber Producers Societies (NCRPS), a collective of small-scale rubber growers, the two-day conference neither featured any presentations by the growers nor did it discuss the issues concerning them.
“The organisers failed to acknowledge the 13-lakh strong small-scale growers as one of the key stakeholders in the country’s rubber sector. About 50 of us attended the event but we were regarded as mere audience,” said Babu Joseph, secretary.
